Question 1

Why is it de lo que instead of just que for "than"?

Accepted Answer

When comparing an adjective (like peligroso) to a phrase with a conjugated verb (like parece), Spanish uses de lo que instead of just que. If you were comparing two nouns, you would use que (for example, más peligroso que el fuego), but because "than it seems" contains a verb, you need de lo que.

Question 2

Why use the neuter lo in de lo que instead of el que, since salto is masculine?

Accepted Answer

The phrase lo que here does not refer to the noun el salto. Instead, it refers to the abstract degree of how dangerous the jump seems. Because it refers to an abstract concept rather than a specific noun, we use the neuter article lo. If you were comparing a specific noun across two clauses, you would use del que or de los que depending on the noun's gender.

Question 3

Does trapecista always take a feminine article?

Accepted Answer

Not always. Nouns ending in -ista (like trapecista, artista, turista) use the same ending for both masculine and feminine. Here, la trapecista tells us the trapeze artist is female. If the artist were male, it would be el trapecista.

Question 4

Do I need a pronoun before parece to translate the "it" in "than it seems"?

Accepted Answer

No, in Spanish the "it" is built into the verb parece. You do not need to add a pronoun like ello here. The phrase de lo que parece perfectly and completely translates to "than it seems".

El salto de la trapecista es más peligroso de lo que parece.

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